"Immiserate" is a rare word, but it's easy to understand. Its meaning is very sharply critical, very politically charged. When you use it, you're essentially saying that rich and powerful people are purposefully oppressing the poor and powerless.

You might talk about the powerful people or groups who immiserate those with less power. Or if you don't want to blame the people directly, you can blame their actions: talk about the laws, decisions, policies, structures, systems and so on that immiserate people.

You can use "immiserated" as an adjective, meaning "suffering in misery, usually due to certain actions taken by the greedy people in power." You might talk about immiserated people, populations, or social classes.

You can also use "immiserating" as an adjective, meaning "causing misery to people." You might talk about immiserating effects, conditions, policies, governments, or corporations.

"Argentina had freed itself from the IMF [International Monetary Fund] and its imposition of economic measures that favor international corporations (while immiserating ordinary citizens)."
   — Rebecca Solnit, Salon, 1 August 2011

"To hear ghouls like Lawrence Summers tell it, there is only one answer to [inflation]. We have to immiserate the poors: jack up interest rates, kick off a recession, destroy millions of jobs, until the poors are stripped of their undeserved fortunes, and, humbled, they return to their labors."
   — Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic, 14 December 2022

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If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "immiserate" without saying "impoverish" or "subjugate."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "By (issuing some law, rule, or policy), they (were, are, or will be) effectively immiserating (a certain group of people)."

Example: "By ending the protections against eviction, they're effectively immiserating the city's poorest families."

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for May is "The Rock & Roll Hall of Game."

It's inspired by a Jeopardy! category called Foodstock.

I'll give you a clue, and you'll try to come up with the tweaked name of a group or solo artist from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

For example, if I give you "They're an American boy band fond of surfing, California, rich vocal harmonies, and helping the Mario Brothers rescue the princess," then you give me "The Peach Boys" (a playful blend of "The Beach Boys" and "Princess Peach" from the Mario games).

Try this one today: These spicy punk rockers from Los Angeles gave us tons of catchy songs like "Give It Away" and "Soul to Squeeze," and a few that we can't name here—too risqué! They're known for their flamboyance and boundary-pushing on stage, and for their precision and flexibility on the Twister mat.

To see the answer, scroll all the way down!

review this word:

1. A near opposite of IMMISERATE is

A. BLEND.
B. ENRICH.
C. DESPAIR.

2. A writer for the Guardian argued that _____ would lead to mass immiseration.

A. subsidizing solar panels
B. replacing human workers with bots
C. paying every citizen a universal basic income

Answers to the review questions: 1. B 2. B Answer to the game question: Red Dot Chili Peppers.

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.